This paper examines the usage, function and meaning of the Swedish concept of “otrygghet” (approx.: insecurity) in political documents from two periods: the 1970s and 2010s. Departing from a theoretical framework inspired by concep-tual historian Reinhart Koselleck, the paper synchronically compares documents from Sweden’s two largest parties (Socialdemokraterna and Moderaterna) and diachronically compares conceptual usage over two periods of time in election manifestos and in motions and propositions from the Swedish Parliament. The aim is to asses if and how the implementation of fear of crime research in Sweden (translated into Swedish as research on “otrygghet”) has affected conceptual usage. The analysis finds that the concept’s use has generally changed from work-related to crime-related contexts. Furthermore, notions concerning the causes of “otrygghet” have changed focus from powerful actors such as the state, politicians and the market, to groups low on the social hierarchy, such as crimi-nals, beggars and gangs of youths. © 2018 Nordisk tidsskrift for kriminalvidenskab